"The members of the community surrounding USNA took the removal of nearly 400 books personally, reacting with surprise and concern. Staff and customers at Anne Arundel County Public Library (AACPL), whose service area includes USNA and the City of Annapolis, immediately spoke out and began working to help provide access to the diverse materials. As a Book Sanctuary, AACPL is committed to fighting for the freedom to read and maintain a well curated collection with many diverse viewpoints. The Annapolis Book Club staged a read aloud of one of the removed books, Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” at a local park that is less than a mile from USNA. The book is a memoir of by the famous Black author who describes the racism, classism, and abuse that she endures during her lifetime growing up in the South and then moving to California in her later years. Another group, including authors, civil rights leaders, military veterans, LGBTQIA+ advocates and elected officials protested outside the main gate of the Academy the same week demanding that the books be reinstated. The downtown entrance is usually open to the public with proper identification during certain hours, but it was locked during the protest."